Food in Lima

Food in Lima has been great. I was expecting to cook a lot more, but with such delicious and relatively inexpensive food everywhere, I've been eating out quite often. I often eat Chifa, Peruvian-Chinese food, in Chinatown or elsewhere. Someone quoted that there were approximately 4,000 Chifas in all of Lima, quite a large amount, even taking into account Lima's size (estimated population of 8 million, about a third of Peru's total population!).

Limenos (Lima residents), it appears, are carnivores, and it's difficult to order dishes that feature vegetables and not meat. Most of the Chifa menu items are quite meaty, which can get overwhelming at times. Because I'm a cheapskate and because I normally eat by myself, I order off the "El Menu," which is basically a set-price, 2 or 3 course meal. Chifas usually have a "sopa wanton" and a main dish, such as "pollo tamarindo," chicken in tamarind sauce, and maybe a small desert or drink if you get the "menu ejecutivo." This all costs about 6-9 soles, or about 2-3 dollars.

I've also been able to get a good variety of Chinese vegetables in a sidestreet market in the Chinatown here. They even have kongxincai (literally translated as "open-heart vegetable... the stalks are hollow), my favorite Chinese vegetable. I bought some homemade tofu today as well, and it was quite delicious.

When people ask me what I eat here, the other thing I usually mention besides chifa is ceviche-- raw seafood-- which is famous in Peru. The fish ceviche is the classic dish and my favorite, although the conchas negras (black clam) ceviche is also delicious. Its normally served dunked in lime juice and with red onions, as well as corn and sweet potato on the side. All told, I'm quite happy with the food here!